Blues manhandle Red Wings 6-0 in opener

Credit: UPI

St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock (L) poses with his trophy, the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's best coach, while goaltenders Jaroslav Halak (41) and Brian Elliott, stand with their William Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the team allowing the fewest goals during the 2011-12 regular season, before their game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on January 19, 2013. Also Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong stands with his award, for being voted the best General Manager in the NHL. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

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(AP) — Rookie Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice in his NHL debut and Chris Stewart also had a pair of goals to help the St. Louis Blues manhandle the Detroit Red Wings 6-0 in their season opener Saturday night.

Coach Ken Hitchcock, general manager Doug Armstrong and goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott posed at center ice with postseason trophies earned from last season's Central Division championship team shortly before the opening faceoff. A standing room crowd of 20,035 roared throughout the opener.

There was a moment of silence in tribute to Hall of Fame baseball player Stan Musial before the third period.

The 21-year-old Tarasenko, a first-round draft pick in 2010, got the scoring started with some nifty puck handling on a breakaway at 6:36 of the first period. He made it 3-0 in the second period with a power-play goal, becoming the 14th player in franchise history to get a pair of goals in his first game.

Halak had to stop just 14 shots by the anemic Red Wings for the shutout. Halak and Brian Elliott combined for a league-leading 15 shutouts last season, sharing the Jennings Trophy.

Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard was pulled after Stewart's power-play goal at 1:15 of the third.